This Oct. 31, 2012 file aerial photo shows the damage to an amusement park left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, in Seaside Heights, N.J.AP

Today’s shakeup of 15 NYPD commanders comes amid a disquieting spate of shootings and a surge in crime that threatens the crime-busting legacy of the Giuliani administration.

An analysis of the NYPD crime statistics, however, shows the commanders being moved are assuming positions of equal or greater responsibility, indicating that Commissioner Bernard Kerik is hoping these changes will bring new perspectives to a number of precincts, primarily in Brooklyn and Queens.

“This is an opportunity to put very capable people in important spots to make sure what has been a very successful year stays a very successful year,” insisted Deputy Inspector Christopher Rising, an NYPD spokesman.

“There’s a new police commissioner coming in and this is designed to move a few guys into other assignments before he arrives,” added an NYPD insider.

“If you want to punish or force out unproductive commanders,” the source added, “you transfer them individually, rather than collectively, so as not to attract attention.”

Those being moved – 10 captains, four deputy inspectors and one full inspector – include bosses who have presided over precincts with significant crime drops.

For instance, Deputy Inspector Gary Scirica, commanding officer of the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway, is being moved to Queens Narcotics.

There’s been an impressive, 40.32 percent drop in crime in Scirica’s precinct during the 28-day period ending Dec. 2, compared to the same period last year – and a 22.79 percent crime drop this year over last.

Capt. Peter Tuffey headed the 61st Precinct in Sheepshead Bay, a command that showed a 38.28 percent dip in crime over the past month and a 28.3 percent drop for the year. He now heads the busier 71st Precinct in Crown Heights, a slot that historically has been a springboard to future promotions.

Inspector James Hall, the former 71st Precinct commander, will be moved to Brooklyn North administrative coordinator while his former second-in-command, Capt. William McClellan, becomes a precinct commander, taking over Tuffey’s former spot.

Capt. Joseph Campbell, who had been the commanding officer of the Brooklyn North Task Force, assumed the reigns of P.S.A. 2, a Housing command in Brooklyn.